


erised

by dicaeopolis



Series: SASO 2017 [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, M/M, a lil sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 18:28:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11765796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dicaeopolis/pseuds/dicaeopolis
Summary: Bokuto's been disappearing at nights. Kuroo follows him.





	erised

**Author's Note:**

> ~~for a saso prompt but i disappeared from the internet and forgot to post it in time OOPS~~

It’s not like Kuroo sees Bokuto  _ all _ the time. Ravenclaw doesn’t have more than one double class with Hufflepuff, and they’ve got their respective Quidditch practices to keep them busy. But usually their paths cross at least a couple times a day, and Kuroo spends plenty of afternoons stirring up trouble with his best friend. Lately, though, the Hogwarts grounds have seemed oddly quiet in the absence of Bokuto’s booming voice, and when Kuroo does see him, he’s kind of haggard, with shadows under his owly yellow eyes.

He’s evasive when Kuroo tries to talk to him about it. When Kuroo brings up the problem to Akaashi, another friend of Bokuto’s who’s in the year below them, they don’t know much more.

“Maybe he’s been busy studying for his NEWTs,” they suggest, curled up with their legs tucked underneath them in the overstuffed blue armchair next to the hearth of the Ravenclaw common room.

The pair of them pause for a moment, and then Akaashi snorts and Kuroo starts chuckling.

So that’s a dead end.

Fortunately for Kuroo, the nights have always been friendly to him. And that’s how ten o’clock p.m. finds a sleek black cat sitting perfectly still in the shadow of the vase next to the entrance to the kitchens, across the hall from the Hufflepuff common room.

It takes a while. At his post, Kuroo watches the last few Hufflepuffs trickle into their dorm, watches Filch prowl by on his own patrol. The last house elf who closes up the kitchen for the night does spot him, but just bends down to scritch Kuroo behind the ears. Kuroo purrs and arches up into the touch, and then the house elf is gone and the hall is silent again. Hours stretch on.

It can’t be earlier than midnight when the door of the common room swings open.

Kuroo’s ears prick forward. His nose catches Bokuto’s scent before his amber eyes fall upon his best friend, who’s wearing his pajamas and holding his lit wand in front of him. His hair is floppy and disorganized, with no gel holding it in place, and he glances furtively both ways before setting off down the hall.

Kuroo follows easily, paws silent on the stone floor of the castle. Bokuto’s path is winding and convoluted, but it descends steadily, and before long, Kuroo is leaping lightly down the stairs to the dungeons.

They’re in the wrong place for the Slytherin common room. In fact, as far as Kuroo can see, there’s nothing in this lower level but a maze of junk. Old boxes, broken furniture, unused owl cages - and, apparently, a full-length mirror that Bokuto’s heading towards.

_“Nox,”_ says Bokuto aloud, and Kuroo is so surprised he nearly turns human again. He catches the transformation as Bokuto’s wand flickers out. Bokuto puts his hands in the pockets of his pajama pants and stares at the mirror, in the dim light of the wall torches.

There’s a word carved into the top of the ornate frame:  _ Erised. _

From where he’s crouched behind a box, Kuroo can’t see Bokuto’s face in the mirror, but he doesn’t seem to be doing anything.

_ Has he been coming down here just to look at himself? _

“Tetsu,” Bokuto says. Kuroo startles again. “I know you’re there.”

_ Caught. _ And there’s no point pretending otherwise. Kuroo slinks out from his hiding place, shifting back to his human form as he walks, and joins Bokuto at the mirror. He doesn’t look at the reflection, though - instead, he watches his best friend. Bokuto’s face is drawn, eyebrows furrowed. Kuroo rests his hand against Bokuto’s forearm, rubbing slow circles.

“Erised,” Kuroo says aloud. His voice sounds oddly loud in the emptiness of the dungeon.

“Dunno what it means,” Bokuto mumbles. “I just found it one night and - it shows me things.” Kuroo’s fingers on his arm still, and Bokuto hurries to clarify. “Not, like, Dark things. Just me, doing stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” Kuroo prompts, voice soft. Bokuto is still staring at the mirror, and Kuroo is still staring at him.

Bokuto shrugs, quick and agitated. “Normal stuff. Winning Quidditch games, and hanging out with you’n’Kaashi’n’Tsukki, and going to see my folks for the holidays, and I - I don’t know, I thought it might be showing me the future, but it’s just me doing things like I normally do, I-”

He stops then, because his voice is getting thin and watery, and because Kuroo has grabbed his hand and squeezed hard. “Hey.  _ Hey, _ it’s gonna be okay-”

“I - I look really -  _ happy-” _

“ _ Kou,” _ Kuroo interrupts, squeezing his hand harder. “You’re gonna be okay.”

Bokuto turns, buries his face in the shoulder of Kuroo’s robe. His hand is iron around Kuroo’s.

“You should get to sleep,” Kuroo tells him gently. He feels Bokuto let out a long, shuddery sigh, and then a nod.

But he doesn’t straighten up quite yet. Instead, his voice comes through the muffle of Kuroo’s robe: “Is it showing you anything?”

Kuroo glances over. But there’s nothing odd. Just the reflection of himself and Bokuto, hand in hand.

“Nope,” he says, turning to lead Bokuto away from the mirror. “Just us.”


End file.
